Coronavirus response brings New York’s Cuomo into spotlight — and women’s hearts
The coronavirus pandemic has brought New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo into the national spotlight — and turned him into a heartthrob.
Women say they are gushing over the way the 62-year-old Democratic leader is handling the crisis.
“It’s nice to know that someone is governing, that someone is keeping track of the hospital beds and the ventilators and the masks, and keeping the pressure on the federal government,” one woman wrote for Vogue.
She says the governor had an obnoxious tone and made an offhand #MeToo joke that didn’t sit well with her. But the pandemic brought out the governor’s fatherly qualities and his “soothing Queens accent,” according to the opinion piece, titled “Why We Are Crushing on Andrew Cuomo Right Now.”
Other women are now pouring out their feelings online and on Twitter.
“I’m officially attracted to Andrew Cuomo,” comedian Chelsea Handler posted. “Can we just let him take over for the country?
Some admirers even make sure they tune into his updates, the New York Post reports.
“It’s like all these women are back in high school,” Talia Reese told the outlet. “We’re all in our pajamas, eating ice cream in bed, and he’s in a sharp suit, looking clean.”
All that female attention led to the newspaper using a nickname: the Luv Guv.
And as women muse on social media, Oprah Magazine has put an end to some speculation. Yes, he’s likely single.
The rise in attention
Cuomo has made his way into women’s hearts as COVID-19 hits New York particularly hard. It had more than 26,000 cases of the virus, the most of any state, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
As the New York governor responds to the crisis, the hashtag #PresidentCuomo has gained traction on Twitter.
“I feel like so many people around the country are turning to @NYGovCuomo for guidance, facts, and empathy during this crucial time,” one person posted. “Makes me proud to be a New Yorker! #PresidentCuomo.“
For his part, Cuomo says he’s just doing his job.
“I’m not doing anything different than I have ever done,” the governor told The New York Times. “It’s just a bigger audience. And it’s a more intense time.”
Still, his newly found appeal has sparked the idea that he could be in the White House some day.
Some have suggested he could be more popular than Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, though it’s unlikely he could make it out on top, according to a New York Magazine blog post.
Meanwhile, former vice president Joe Biden, the front runner for the party’s nomination, has been criticized for not speaking out more as coronavirus spreads, according to The Hill.
And President Donald Trump has seen an increase in approval ratings “even as the daily White House briefings have had a circus-like atmosphere and the president’s claims have been picked apart,” the news outlet reports.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Coronavirus response brings New York’s Cuomo into spotlight — and women’s hearts."
